Where's the bus?
It was an early get up today as we had to catch 2 trains. 1 train from Yangshuo to Guilin, and then another train to Guangzhou. We got up and checked out of the hostel by 7:30am. Thankfully the bus stop was about a 30 second walk from our hostel. So we got on our merry way and awaited our bus. After several minutes of standing here, a few of the people that had past us had done so whilst shaking their heads, or saying something. I became suspicious because I’d also not seen a bus this morning yet. This, paired with people’s reactions, led me to believe that buses weren’t running for some reason.
A couple of bike taxis were hovering around at us, trying to coax us into a trip. We were adamant at first, we would take the bus. However, as time went on, and no sign of a bus, we had to concede. We didn’t have all day to wait around, we had 2 trains to catch! So we accepted their offer and hopped on the back of their motorbikes. I felt a bit dubious during the ride. This was because I had a huge 15kg backpack on my back, which was trying to pull me off the bike. I didn’t exactly want to hug the rider to death either. To be honest, it was quite a thrill to say the least, especially staying on the bike around the corners.
Where's the coach?!
The ride was all over in 10 minutes or less. We got to the Yangshuo Transportation Centre, where we first arrived, and went inside to ask about the coach to the train station. Due to a bike race that was occurring throughout the entire town, there were no coaches running either! Just great. We bartered with a taxi driver for a ride to the station. It wasn’t going to be so cheap, because it’s over an hour away. This is the situation where Mat shone, and I let him take the lead.
Due to his more assertive nature and “no one’s gonna screw us over” attitude, he was able to shrink the taxi fare considerably. More than we’d like to pay, but that’s the way it goes. You can’t always account for everything. There was another person who joined us in the taxi, which helped to keep the fare down slightly. Anyway, after an hour’s drive going through the countryside again, we arrived at the train station. For most of the way, we saw platoons of police officers helping to set up the course the bike race. I suspect that if we’d attempted a taxi much later than it already was, we wouldn’t have been able to get to the train station.
Tip!
When you’re travelling, things are bound to go out of your control sometimes. Not every plan will go exactly how it was supposed to. The important thing is how you handle it. It’s key that when things go balls to the wall, you can remain calm and think logically. More often than not, there’s a solution or someone who can help out. To be cliché, you have to “Keep calm and carry on”.
Where's the train?!?
We arrived at the railway station with plenty of time to spare. I have to thank our Chongqing train experience, that taught us to be at the train station at least 2 hours before departure. To check out that farce, click here. Since we had a train to Guilin and a train to Guangzhou to catch today, we asked if we could collect tickets for both trains, and save time. Thankfully, this was possible, so we collected all the tickets for today. With the way today had started, I was almost scared that the trains weren’t running either! We had a short wait at the train station before it arrived.
The train to Guilin was a swift half an hour, just like the first train. We then had an hour or so to wait before the train to Guangzhou arrived. I’ve said before, but I quite enjoy the logistics of travelling, as well as the waiting/journey itself. Many people can’t wait for the train to be over and to be at their destination as soon as possible. I enjoy the time to chill out. There’s nowhere to go when you’re waiting for a train, so you can’t blame yourself for wasting valuable time. The train to Guangzhou arrived at around noon, so we hopped on. After the events that transpired today, we were already tired, so we managed to sneak a nap in on the train.
Tip!
As mentioned, if you have multiple trains booked, you can get them printed off at the same time. Even if they’re on different days. This saves time in the long run and prevents the need for future queueing. The reason we didn’t do it more, was that we didn’t have a solid itinerary. You have to expect the unexpected when travelling.
Arriving in Guangzhou
When we got off the train to Guangzhou and arrived in the city, it was still terribly hot. This kind of weather really drains your energy, even more so with huge backpacks on. We had a decent distance to walk to the hostel, backpacks breaking our backs in the meantime. Eventually we arrived at the hotel, and after an anxious check in, we went to our rooms for a rest. The hotel we stayed in was a branch of the 7Days Inn, click here for more info. This hotel was okay, there wasn’t a window in our room, but it was fairly comfortable.
After our rest, we went out for a stroll. It was dark this time, and the strip outside our hotel was lit. Mat and I had a walk up the street, then back down. We were in search of food. It wasn’t too long before we found a small place on the side of a road, perhaps a franchise. I settled for duck noodles with a boiled egg. It was okay, except for the duck bones and spine. That’s the main difference with Asian food, it contains everything. In the West we only have fillets or steaks, no bones except for chicken legs, for the most part. After our food, we had a walk around the nearby area. We were surprised at how busy this place was, especially for night. It was a real hive of activity, and was completed by a squad of old women dancing in an open area.
Tip!
This mostly only applies to China, but there are a vast amount of hotels/hostels that only accommodate mainland Chinese citizens. When booking a place, double check if this is the case. Once you book, you can’t always get a refund. 7Days Inn is one of the hotels that is, for the most part, only accepting of Chinese citizens. Due to the fact we booked prior to them saying Chinese citizens only (it appeared on booking.com after we booked), they at least honoured this and let us stay.
